Which discount operator / MVNO for iPhone in the US

[nofu]

Hi everyone,

I'm moving from Europe to the US (SF Bay Area) in 2 weeks and I'm wondering which operator I should choose. I already have an unlocked iPhone 4 (GSM), thus I don't need to get into one of these expensive AT&T/Sprint/T-Mobile, etc. contracts.

I came across MVNOs like Straight Talk or Simple Mobile, who operate on the AT&T or T-Mobile network. They all offer similar packages: approx. $40 for unlimited talk/text/data. Are they any good? Service-wise, etc.? Are there any traps (e.g. speed reduction after x MB of data)? Who's got the best offering (I'm looking for min. of 200min and 1gb data)?

Thanks!

cheers,
nofu

 

[mattopotamus]

i know a lot of people on these forums switched to straight talk, and they seem to really be enjoying them.

 

[vistadude]

Straight talk is a good deal but you're limited to ~ 2GB of data and apparently you can't use certain apps like video streaming or they get mad.

AT&T is more pricey but you can do whatever you want with your data, and you get 3-5 GB depending on the plan. You can sign up without a contract, it's the same price.

 

[takeshi74]

I'm moving from Europe to the US (SF Bay Area) in 2 weeks and I'm wondering which operator I should choose.

You should always choose based on coverage first. Try checking in with those in the Bay Area -- in specific areas that you will frequent (the Bay Area is a large region).

 

[kalex]

I use straight talk with ATT based sim card. Everything works fine as long as u don't abuse it. Straight talk has some sort of soft cap enabled and its most likely corresponds to ATT 3gb limit. If you reach it they might send u text message. If you get text message then u need to not push your luck or they will cut u off. I'm not a heavy data user as i have wifi coverage so for me its fine and can't beat $45 a month for everything

 

[sawah]

Another option would be red pocket, my friend is using it with an iphone 3gs and it seems to work well.

 

[Satnam1989]

everything you need to know: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1356525/

 

[rajivvarma]

I had switched from tmobile to Straight Talk a month ago, and I've had zero problems. You can do video streaming; just take care to stay below 2GB / billing cycle.

I wonder, too, if ST will implement the 3G FaceTime charge that AT&T is rumored to do when iOS 6 is released. My gut says “no”, since ST is a pre-paid service.